Letter to the Editor: On Irene Parrino’s Actions

I am writing this letter not just as the daughter of Terence Hale, but as an adult resident, taxpayer, graduate, and voter of the Mineola School District. He did not force me to write this, I am writing of my own free will as an adult.

To say that I am angry and disgusted over the vindictive actions taken against him by Mrs. Parrino is an understatement. My dad has volunteered his time for this District for almost 20 years, he began when I was in kindergarten in 1995. I don’t need to remind everyone of his incredible accomplishments, you can look them up yourselves. I am extremely proud of all that he’s done over the years, and I am proud to be his daughter.

Mrs. Parrino claims that the timing of her papers requesting his removal from the Board of Education had nothing to do with losing the election. However, the date of the final email sent by my dad in question was on April 29. Why then, did she wait until May 22, the day after the election, to have him served with papers? If she was so offended, why not serve the papers sooner? It surely looks like the timing was because of her loss. It seems like she couldn’t just bow out gracefully.

My dad issued a written apology to Mrs. Parrino on April 30, which has conveniently been left out of the documents she has been releasing to the press. He flat out admitted he was in the wrong, which can be very difficult to admit. He took complete ownership over the comments he made. He admitted his comments were unprofessional and that he was out of line. She told him she accepted his apology.

Mrs. Parrino has made it seem like my dad’s comments occurred in multiple emails over an extended period of time. However, she has only complained about three emails. His comments about the Williston Times was in an email on April 20. His remarks about the choking incident, the vegetable platter, and key to the village was all in one email on April 22, I shouldn’t have to repeat what was said because they have been printed over and over again. She has made it seem like they were all separate, but they were all in one. From that point on, he never spoke of the incident again in emails. She has made it seem like he dragged it out. He publicly apologized to Mr. Jones after Mr. Jones spoke publicly on the June 20 board meeting and the two men shook hands. He attempted to apologize to Mrs. Jones, who declined to speak of it at that time, but he could see her after July 2. Emotions ran high that night, and I don’t blame her for not wanting to speak about it further. However, he tried. My dad’s comments about Mrs. Hafner were in a separate email on April 29.

Mrs. Parrino has also accused him of threatening her and her children. That is absolutely ridiculous. To say that he, as a parent, would threaten a child is absurd. All of his emails were not sent just to her, they were sent to the board as a whole. Mrs. Parrino claims that other Board members told him to cease the emails, however there is no written proof of any of them saying so.

Still, she did not stop. On June 20, my dad’s last board meeting, trustees Napolitano and Barnett and president Hornberger read statements about him. They praised his accomplishments and said wonderful things about him. When it was Mrs. Parrino’s time to speak, she said something along the lines of “they’re obviously his friends.”

Yes, Mrs. Parrino, they are. They are his friends because over their time on the Board together, the work relationship grew into friendships. Mrs. Napolitano has known my dad since her daughter and myself were in the middle school together. Mrs. Parrino could have been a friend of his, as well. However, as all the board members have stated, she did not bring anything to the table during her three years. Things like abstaining from a vote on a crucial budget. She rarely interacted with the board members, however, the other members did interact with each other. She could have become more involved, but she did not. That is her fault, and her fault alone.

Mrs. Parrino has been painted as a victim the entire time, things like “poor Irene.” That is simply not true. She has been attacking my dad, slandering his name, defacing his character, and humiliating him since May 22. As a board member she handed over the whole petition to the press, yet she states my dad is unfit to serve on the board? That seems hypocritical. Her actions have caused extreme stress on myself, my mom, and my dad. My dad has apologized countless times.

I am baffled that she’s gone this far when he apologized to her on April 30. He apologized publicly in his resignation speech, he apologized publicly again at the most recent Board meeting. How many times must he say that he’s sorry? He has taken responsibility for his words and actions, he has owned up to his mistakes. That is a very difficult thing for anyone to do, to say they screwed up. I’m sure every single one of us, whether it be a board member, or a teacher, or other public figure, has said something at least once that they regretted. We’ve all sent things in emails, or text messages, or Facebook messages that we wish we didn’t hit the send button on. The only difference is that none of our mistakes of poor wording ended up in newspapers.

Mrs. Parrino wanted my dad removed from the board of education. He wanted to take the high road and resign, to not waste the money of the Mineola School District or distract the board from it’s true focus: the students. Mrs. Parrino could have accepted that fact, but instead, chose to continue her petition. She is costing the district money as we speak ($200 an hour, in fact). And for what? He is already off the board as of July 2, and she will not have to work with him as she will be off the board as well. He did not resign because of what he said, he resigned because of Mrs. Parrino’s actions, contrary to what Mrs. Parrino has been telling the press.

None of us are perfect, and my dad has never claimed to be. He has admitted he was wrong, apologized to the people he offended, and stepped down from his position. I am beyond confused as to what else Mrs. Parrino wants from him. You won, Mrs. Parrino. He resigned, which is just what you wanted. He has been publicly humiliated and has had his name slandered by you, which I don’t understand the satisfaction you seem to receive. Enough is enough, already.

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